


Fox Regrets

by WildHoneyProse



Series: Closer Than A Brother [1]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Brotherly Love, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:20:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27702671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildHoneyProse/pseuds/WildHoneyProse
Summary: Thorn helps Fox deal with some past pain in a way only a brother could.
Series: Closer Than A Brother [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161434
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Fox Regrets

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually part of Chapter 4 of my Foxiyo Fic Of Soldiers and Senators, but I really like it on its own as well. Set after the "Hostage Crisis" Episode.

Fox was exhausted. Sweat was dripping off his nose and his knuckles were bloody and battered, but Fox didn't care. It felt good to hit something. It helped him think. It made sense. He didn't know how long he had been sparring with the training droid, but he had barely begun to untangle his thoughts. He couldn’t figure out why he was so upset. He had only known Senator Chuchi for two months and had only talked to her a handful of times at that. But when he had heard that Riyo was one of the senators taken hostage by Cad Bane, it was as if he was reliving Geonosis all over. The nightmares had started again and the same feeling of helplessness that he had felt in losing countless numbers of men, the men he was responsible for, threatened to overwhelm him. 

_ She's fine. She's safe. _ He kept telling himself but he still couldn't shake the feeling that he should have been there, or that his men should have been there.  _ She could have been killed. They all could have been killed. _ The incident had only proved that the Senate Guards were as useless as he thought them. The safety of the Republic Senators was his responsibility, and he had been unable to protect them,  _ just as he had been unable to protect his men on Geonosis _ . 

For some reason he couldn't explain, he felt especially responsible for Senator Chuchi's safety. He told himself it was because she was young and inexperienced and needed extra protection. Maybe he had seen an eagerness and innocence in her that reminded him of a shiny version of himself and his batchmates before they had shipped out from Kamino. Or maybe it was because every time he talked to her, he felt like he  _ was _ that eager, reckless shiny again.

Whatever it was, he felt responsible for her and she had been in terrible danger and had been injured. The medics had said it wasn't serious. Just a concussion and a dislocated shoulder from the fall when Skywalker had cut through the floor to avoid the blast.  _ Thank the stars Skywalker had been there. _ It had been three days and she was expected to return to work the next morning. 

"What did that droid do to you?" Fox could barely hear Thorn's voice over his own heavy breathing and pounding heart. 

He didn't answer, just kept blocking and striking at a nearly impossible pace until Thorn used the override control to shut down the droid.

"Turn it back on!" Fox panted.

"It wasn't your fault Fox."

"Turn it back on!"

"You've been at it for 2 hours. You need to cut yourself a break," Thorn insisted.

"Thorn! Turn the kriffing droid back on!"

"No. If you want to fight, you can fight me," Thorn said, walking out onto the sparring mats and dropping into a fighting stance in front of Fox.

Fox glared at him, considering. Deciding that Thorn was serious, he charged with all the speed and skill of an ARC trained Clone Commander. Out of his three fellow commanders, Thorn was the only one who had ever been able to beat him sparring, and that had only been a couple of times. Thorn easily avoided the attack and countered with a right hook that was blocked by Fox, who followed with an uppercut that met with Thorn's ribs. Thorn quickly pushed Fox back and went on the offensive, moving into Fox's space with blinding speed, jabbing with his right a split second before his left hook connected with Fox's jaw. Fox staggard back for a moment, but found his footing again quickly and wrapped his arms around the back of Thorn's neck, while bringing a knee up to collide with the same spot in his ribs. Thorn landed a blow to Fox's ribs in return, then pushed him one more time and decided to hang back and let Fox make the next move. But Fox was tired and he was getting sloppy. He stepped forward and jabbed. Thorn caught his hand and easily twisted it around behind Fox's back, locking him in a chokehold with his other arm. Fox struggled pointlessly, unwilling to give up. Thorn just held him tighter.

"It wasn't your fault Fox! You have to let it go!" Thorn said.

"The safety of those senators is my responsibility and I couldn't protect them!"

"Damn it, Fox! I'm not talking about the senators and you know it! What happened on Geonosis, the men you lost. It wasn't your fault and you have to stop blaming yourself! We all lost men that day! And every single day since, thousands of our brothers have given their lives for the Republic. They knew their duty! They were willing to pay the price! Killing yourself isn't going to honor that sacrifice, and it sure as hell isn't going to bring them back!"

Thorn could feel the fight drain out of Fox and stepped to his side, gently lowering him to the floor as Fox collapsed in his arms, sobs wracking his entire body. "I've got you, vod," Thorn murmured as he held Fox protectively, allowing him to vent his grief. They stayed that way for a long time. When Fox had finally started breathing normally again, Thorn wrapped his hand around the back of Fox's neck and pulled his head gently forward until their foreheads were together. "You are a good soldier, a great leader, and an even better man, Fox. Your men love and trust you. You have to forgive yourself," Thorn said with quiet authority.

Fox wrapped his own hand around the back of Thorn's neck, pressing his forehead back into his brother's as he let the truth the words wash over him.


End file.
